BONZA
BONZA - Australia & NewZealand
Home    |    About    |    Search    |    Essays    |    Contact    |    Login

AFI research collection
   
Reference Type Herald Sun newspaper
Title The Reel Thing
Author(s)Simon Plant
Town Melbourne
State VIC
Country Australia
Publication Date 28-09-2002
Citation Date
Page Number 9
Comments "The reel thing" is an article written by Simon Plant in the Saturday Herald Sun in September of 2010. Intended for Herald Sun readers, specifically those who take interest in the entertainment section, the article transitions smoothly between factual and interview styles of writing. The piece can serve many purposes; first and foremost acting as an extremely credible source of information. Plant conveys information through his own words but also through those of Alan Finney as he inserts captions and comments from their meeting and interview.



This article is particularly important for my field as it highlights Finneys outstanding ability to market movies, particularly the way in which he is known to nurture and make way for Australian films. Plant talks specifically about the Australian film success story of Mad Max. He quotes Leigh Paatsch (a herald sun film critic) in saying "In his prime, he exceeded expectations with ace advertising campaigns". Mad Max, as stated in the article, was incredibly successful and was one of the earliest campaigns to really grabbed peoples attention. The details of how the advertising campaign defied convention and attracted people to the film are largely attributed to Finneys influence. Furthermore, Finney is quoted in talking about what different factors he will take into account when releasing a film. Things such as the release date (trying to ensure there is little competition), and getting critics to work in your favour are mentioned as major points of attention.



Being a newspaper article, one can assume a certain degree of credibility when assessing the source. However, perhaps a stronger point, is that of Alan Finneys presence during the interview and first hand accounts and comments that have also been entered in from other film industry identities. These additions add a large degree of credibility into the content of the piece and provide a strong argument when talking up Finneys success. The author has conceded that there are some critics who believe Finney has "lost his touch" but only in a small way and there is no doubting that he has had an immense impact on the industry.



Plant adopts a very informative approach when conveying information. It is concise and doesn't waste words on unnecessary information. Whilst Finney may have only a few critics, one must note that Plant's obvious intentions were to write in favour of Finney and his success (only one mention of an unnamed critic), leaving an underlying notion of such success and influence.



Benjamin Kennedy (Deakin University) 900200487 - 03/05/2012





Synopsis Simon Plant meets Alan Finney over a Choc Top.
tags: Alan Finney East End 1-3 Mad Max 
add tag
People Mentioned ( click to view )
Production Titles Mentioned ( click to view )
Companies Mentioned ( click to view )
Cinemas Mentioned ( click to view )
 
 

Search - Australia & New Zealand  |   Search - French Cinema  |   Terms of Use